OWO CHURCH MASSACRE: HOW PHONE ANALYSIS TIES SUSPECTS TO CRIME SCENE

OWO CHURCH MASSACRE: HOW PHONE ANALYSIS TIES SUSPECTS TO CRIME SCENE

A State Security Service (SSS) operative on Wednesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that phone call analysis and telecommunications data allegedly placed four defendants at the scene of the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite, the witness—identified as SSJ under a court-approved protection arrangement—stated that technical analysis of call records showed that the first to fourth defendants’ mobile phones were active within the telecommunications cell site covering the church area at the time of the attack. According to him, conversations made around the period of the incident indicated their presence in the vicinity of the church premises.

The attack on St. Francis Catholic Church left at least 40 people dead and more than 100 others injured, according to official reports at the time.

The defendants standing trial are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47).

Beyond the phone analysis, the SSS operative told the court that the defendants made confessional statements allegedly linking themselves to the attack. He said the statements were taken in the presence of the Director of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria after the defendants indicated they could not afford private legal representation or have family members present. The defence counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad, objected to the admissibility of the statements, but Justice Nwite overruled the objection and admitted them as exhibits. The judge also declined a request for a trial-within-trial, ruling that such a procedure is required only when voluntariness is challenged, not when a defendant denies making the statement.

Earlier, during cross-examination of the ninth prosecution witness, identified as SSI, the court heard that the defendants were arrested in August 2022 in Kogi and Ondo states and later interviewed in Abuja. The witness alleged that the suspects are members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), including a cell referred to as Al Shabab operating in the area. He also referenced another faction described as the Mahmuda group.

According to the testimony, the fourth defendant allegedly returned weapons used in the attack to an individual identified as Odoba and also returned a rented vehicle allegedly used during the operation. The court further heard that the suspects reportedly drove to the church in a rented vehicle and later hijacked another vehicle from a worshipper to facilitate their escape. Meetings were said to have been held on June 3 and 4, 2022, during which instructions for the attack were allegedly given. The witness added that both explosives and multiple rounds of ammunition were used.

The SSS maintained that the case was thoroughly investigated and that the evidence presented was duly obtained. Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until February 19 at 12 noon for continuation of trial.a